Students were evacuated twice from a Berthoud middle school this morning after people noted the scent of gas and complained of headaches and nausea.
Turner Middle School officials first called authorities to report the smell around 8:30 a.m., according to Deb Graves, spokeswoman for the Berthoud Fire Department.
Students were allowed to return to their classrooms when the fire department was unable to determine a source for the gas, and said the school was safe, she said.
They were then evacuated again around 9 a.m., when two students and a faculty member mentioned having headaches, said Melissa Adams, with the Thompson School District.
About 63 students and 2 faculty members were screened by EMTs on site for their symptoms, but none was sent to the hospital, Graves said.
“They seem to be going well with the fresh air,” Graves said.
Students waited out on the football field while the Loveland HazMat team confirmed the property was safe to resume classes.
Adams said the gas is believed to have gotten sucked into the school’s airducts from an off-site construction project.
The school has about 436 students.
